"Hey, Haku. How're you feeling?"
Zabuza walked into Haku's room and sat down beside him. As he sat down, he noticed a faint blush on the young boy's face.
He'd always been like this. His face was fair, and every little emotional change showed right on his face.
"Mr. Zabuza."
Seeing Zabuza come to visit, Haku was a bit flattered. He was about to prop himself up, but a big hand gently pushed him back onto the bed.
"You're still not fully recovered. Just rest now."
"Yeah."
Haku was not a talkative person. After a long silence, not knowing what to say, he finally started sharing his insights from the battle.
"Haku, you fought against Kakashi's students. What do you think of their strength?"
"Naruto? In our first fight, I noticed he had a huge amount of Chakra in his body. His proficiency in Ninjutsu is rare for someone his age. I never thought my Ice Secret Jutsu would be defeated by Naruto during our second confrontation. He's really amazing!"
"Yeah, all three of Kakashi's students are outstanding. Forget about Naruto, who you fought. That little girl who saved you seemed nothing special at first, but her talent in fine - tuned Chakra control is top - notch. There's also that member of the Uchiha clan. He rarely shows his strength, but he's definitely as strong as Kakashi. Konoha has really nurtured a lot of excellent new talents during these peaceful years!"
"Mr. Zabuza?"
Haku looked at Zabuza curiously. Why was he so interested in Konoha's new generation?
"Nothing. I just thought of my own dark and tragic childhood. I abandoned my emotions to gain power and endured the harsh training in Kiri. But now, seeing people like Kakashi and his disciples grow up in a happy environment and still become so strong, maybe our training method was wrong from the start!"
"Yeah, both Naruto and the others in Konoha Village seem so cheerful and sunny. It's really comfortable to be around them."
...................
They sat in silence for a long time. Finally, Zabuza made up his mind to speak.
"Haku, if I get tired of this life of fighting and killing, will you still stay by my side?"
"Of course! Wherever you go, I'll follow. Even if you want to abandon me, I'll never leave!"
Seeing the young boy's sincere and determined look, sometimes Zabuza wondered what was so good about him, a wanted criminal on the run, that made Haku give his all.
"Okay, from now on, we'll always be together and never be apart!"
"Yeah."
Haku blushed and fell silent again. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him, and he asked.
"Mr. Zabuza, I heard from Sakura that when I was on the verge of death from my injuries, you seemed to cry and said something to me. But when I asked Sakura, she wouldn't tell me and told me to ask you directly. Can you tell me?"
"
....
"...Haku...fortunately, we're both alive and together. If we had died, we probably wouldn't have gone to the same place... "
..................
The escort journey in the Land of Waves came to a temporary halt. Naruto and Kakashi's injuries had improved. They waved goodbye to Mr. Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inori.
On their way, the four of them saw two figures, one tall and one short, blocking their path.
"Zabuza, what are you doing here?"
"Humph! Of course, I can't stand you, so I came here to have a fight with you!"
"What?"
"Mr. Zabuza!"
Zabuza received a fierce warning glance from Haku. He awkwardly turned his head to the side, picked at the bandage on his face, and after a long pause, he finally said, "Th...Thanks to all of you!"
"Really, thank you all from Konoha for your assistance!"
Haku bowed respectfully to them.
"Haku, you don't have to be like this. It's just a small thing. No big deal!"
with a confused expression
"As for you, Zabuza! Why are you acting so shy? You're a grown man. It's so gross!"
with an angry expression
"Damn it! What did you just say, you jerk?"
Hearing this, Zabuza couldn't bear it anymore. He rushed up to Kakashi to confront him and slammed his head into Kakashi's.
The two of them bumped their heads together violently, creating a shower of sparks. As a result, for a moment, the air was filled with killing intent.
...................
"Shouldn't we stop them?"
"Leave them be. Teacher Kakashi looks so dumb like this!"
Sakura waved her hand. Men are always the most childish when they're being childish, no matter how old they are!
"Really? I think those two are so energetic. It's like they're old friends catching up and bickering. It's so much fun!"
"Haku, you're too indulgent to Zabuza. These two are both over fifty years old and still bickering. It's really speechless!"
..................
"Shut up! You one - eyed guy with your forehead protector covering half of your eyes and that weird - looking hair hanging to one side!"
"Ha~ You said it. You actually dared to say it! What's wrong with my hairstyle? So what if I'm a one - eyed guy? It's much better than you, a ninja who's been called a demon since childhood. Don't you ever get scared by your own face when you look in the mirror? Won't it scare you awake in the middle of the night?"
"Ha~"
.................
"Are they really okay? They've started attacking each other personally. If we don't stop them, there'll probably be another big fight!"
"Let them fight. This must be their way of communicating with each other."
Haku looked at Zabuza tenderly. It was the first time he'd seen Mr. Zabuza looking so energetic.
"Lord Hokage!"
"Oh! Is Kakashi back? I heard you encountered quite some trouble on this mission."
"Yes, although there were some problems, we've solved them all!"
"Hmm, good. By the way, it's about to start. Have you decided whether to let them participate?"
"Did you complete your first C-rank mission smoothly, Sasuke and Naruto?"
"Aunt Mikoto, chill! With me here, it's all good!"
Naruto happily gave a V sign and told Mikoto about his battle experience.
"Wow! Naruto, you're so amazing. Then I'll make a big feast tonight to welcome you back from your first C - rank mission!"
At the mention of delicious food, his eyes lit up with a greedy green glow, and just hearing about it made his stomach rumble.
"Thank you, aunt!"
Sasuke: So, does love just go poof? Mother, don't you even care how your own son did?
?_?
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